France’s first soldier to be killed in the Middle East war was hit by an Iranian drone, his commanding officer has said, AFP reports.

Arnaud Frion, 42, was “killed by a Shahed drone strike on the position where he was located,” said Colonel Francois-Xavier de la Chesnay.

President Emmanuel Macron earlier today announced the French soldier had lost his life in an attack in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, after France’s military said drones a day earlier hit a base where troops were taking part in counter-terrorism training.